Wasp Blower(softsolder.com)
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Wasp Blower
https://softsolder.com/2025/08/12/wasp-blower/
102 comments
I’m fine with your garden variety paper wasp, along with its European counterpart [0] that is all over the US and closely resembles a yellow jacket, but the latter tucks its legs in flight while the former doesn’t, which makes distinguishing the two relatively easy. Paper wasps generally aren’t aggressive unless you’re in their business, and they’re easy to deal with if you have to.
Yellow jackets are a different story entirely. Sometimes they nest underground which can be a real problem (mowing/lawncare, pets, children), and they are far more aggressive than paper wasps and hornets. The sting is quite a bit worse than either, too, so my philosophy is if I find a nest in the spring it’s given no quarter with no remorse.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_paper_wasp
Yellow jackets are a different story entirely. Sometimes they nest underground which can be a real problem (mowing/lawncare, pets, children), and they are far more aggressive than paper wasps and hornets. The sting is quite a bit worse than either, too, so my philosophy is if I find a nest in the spring it’s given no quarter with no remorse.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_paper_wasp
What's your method for eliminating underground nests?
A tablespoon or two of carbaryl dust dumped right at the main entrance hole (at night, of course, and use a red headlamp light etc., nothing bright) will put the hurt on. They carry the dust inside the nest and get it all over the place, but it doesn’t alarm them like spray cans of insecticide do.
Wait a couple days to see activity die down, might need another application. Eventually the queen will die which will kill the colony. Any stragglers can be handled with spray cans.
There are some YouTube videos [0] that show the idea of using carbaryl dust that might be helpful. An insecticide dust applicator would be the perfect thing to use, but all I did was slowly march up to the hole and dump the dust from a cup right onto it.
0: https://youtu.be/DOr0_1DqsTs?si=fl0kpVLWaGfmMeSy
Wait a couple days to see activity die down, might need another application. Eventually the queen will die which will kill the colony. Any stragglers can be handled with spray cans.
There are some YouTube videos [0] that show the idea of using carbaryl dust that might be helpful. An insecticide dust applicator would be the perfect thing to use, but all I did was slowly march up to the hole and dump the dust from a cup right onto it.
0: https://youtu.be/DOr0_1DqsTs?si=fl0kpVLWaGfmMeSy
When we were kids we used to catch wasps in a plastic cup, put them in the freezer until they were anesthetized, and then tie a little leash on them with sewing thread.
Then you chase your friends around the neighborhood with your personal attack wasp. Good times.
Then you chase your friends around the neighborhood with your personal attack wasp. Good times.
I fried them in a piece of glass tube from a neon sign, with the high voltage wires from the transformer poked into the opposing ends of the tube until it started to arc from wire to wire through the wasp. Stank.
I'm neither proud nor ashamed. Today in my more boring older age I just grab whatever random inappropriate houshold or automotive chemical is handy that squirts or sprays.
Wish I had thought of the freezer & string thing.
I'm neither proud nor ashamed. Today in my more boring older age I just grab whatever random inappropriate houshold or automotive chemical is handy that squirts or sprays.
Wish I had thought of the freezer & string thing.
Gotta be careful, hit them with WD40 and they might start moving faster!
Soapy water (dish soap) in a spray bottle works wonders. Once they are wet and bubbly they can’t fly, making it safe to knock them to the ground and squish them.
If you happen to have the spray bottle in hand while they are flying at you, a quick mist in the air in their flight path will turn them away.
If you happen to have the spray bottle in hand while they are flying at you, a quick mist in the air in their flight path will turn them away.
Slightly tangential but this was a learning moment for me.
This reminds me of a story where Sage Mandavya established the first juvenile law in Hindu mythology.
<story starts>
Long ago, there lived a great sage named Mandavya who had taken a vow of silence and spent his days in deep meditation. One day, while he sat motionless beneath a tree with his arms raised in penance, a group of thieves being pursued by the king’s soldiers fled into his hermitage. They hid their stolen loot near the sage and escaped through the other side. When the king’s soldiers arrived, they found the stolen goods but the sage—deep in meditation and bound by his vow of silence—neither confirmed nor denied their presence. The soldiers arrested him and brought him before the king, accusing him of harboring criminals.
Despite his spiritual stature, the king ordered a severe punishment: Mandavya was to be impaled on a stake (shula)—a horrific execution where a wooden spike was driven through the body. However, due to his immense yogic powers and detachment from the physical world, the sage did not die. He remained alive on the stake, enduring the agony with superhuman patience. Eventually, other sages intervened, the king realized his grave error, and Mandavya was freed. But the damage was done. When the sage finally left his mortal body, he went directly to Yamaloka—the realm of Yama, the god of death and justice—to demand an explanation.
“Why did I have to suffer such a gruesome fate?” Sage Mandavya asked Lord Yama. “What terrible sin did I commit to deserve impalement?” Yama consulted his records and replied, “When you were a child, you caught a dragonfly and pierced it with a needle through its body, watching it suffer for your amusement. That act of cruelty resulted in your punishment - you experienced the same suffering you inflicted on that innocent creature.”
Sage Mandavya was furious. “That was when I was a child!” he protested. “I was too young to understand the difference between right and wrong, between sin and virtue. How can you punish an ignorant child with the same severity as a knowing adult?”
Yama tried to explain that karma operates impartially, but Mandavya would not accept this. In his righteous anger, the sage cursed Yama himself: “For this unjust judgment, you shall be born as a human on Earth and experience mortality yourself!” This curse led to Yama being born as Vidura, the wise and virtuous counselor in the Mahabharata - a human who, despite his wisdom and righteousness, had to endure the limitations and sufferings of mortal life.
But Mandavya didn’t stop there. Using his spiritual authority, he proclaimed a new divine law: “No sin committed by a child below the age of fourteen shall count toward their karmic debt equivalent to that of an adult. Children who do not yet understand dharma and adharma shall not be punished for their ignorant actions.” This became the first “juvenile law” in Hindu mythology—a recognition that children, in their innocence and ignorance, deserve compassion and correction rather than severe punishment.
<story ends>
When I was a child, I too wanted to catch a dragonfly and tie a thread to it so it would fly around like a little pet. But my mother stopped me. She told me this very story of Sage Mandavya, and it scared me for life. I never forgot it, and I never tried to catch and bind a dragonfly again.
This reminds me of a story where Sage Mandavya established the first juvenile law in Hindu mythology.
<story starts>
Long ago, there lived a great sage named Mandavya who had taken a vow of silence and spent his days in deep meditation. One day, while he sat motionless beneath a tree with his arms raised in penance, a group of thieves being pursued by the king’s soldiers fled into his hermitage. They hid their stolen loot near the sage and escaped through the other side. When the king’s soldiers arrived, they found the stolen goods but the sage—deep in meditation and bound by his vow of silence—neither confirmed nor denied their presence. The soldiers arrested him and brought him before the king, accusing him of harboring criminals.
Despite his spiritual stature, the king ordered a severe punishment: Mandavya was to be impaled on a stake (shula)—a horrific execution where a wooden spike was driven through the body. However, due to his immense yogic powers and detachment from the physical world, the sage did not die. He remained alive on the stake, enduring the agony with superhuman patience. Eventually, other sages intervened, the king realized his grave error, and Mandavya was freed. But the damage was done. When the sage finally left his mortal body, he went directly to Yamaloka—the realm of Yama, the god of death and justice—to demand an explanation.
“Why did I have to suffer such a gruesome fate?” Sage Mandavya asked Lord Yama. “What terrible sin did I commit to deserve impalement?” Yama consulted his records and replied, “When you were a child, you caught a dragonfly and pierced it with a needle through its body, watching it suffer for your amusement. That act of cruelty resulted in your punishment - you experienced the same suffering you inflicted on that innocent creature.”
Sage Mandavya was furious. “That was when I was a child!” he protested. “I was too young to understand the difference between right and wrong, between sin and virtue. How can you punish an ignorant child with the same severity as a knowing adult?”
Yama tried to explain that karma operates impartially, but Mandavya would not accept this. In his righteous anger, the sage cursed Yama himself: “For this unjust judgment, you shall be born as a human on Earth and experience mortality yourself!” This curse led to Yama being born as Vidura, the wise and virtuous counselor in the Mahabharata - a human who, despite his wisdom and righteousness, had to endure the limitations and sufferings of mortal life.
But Mandavya didn’t stop there. Using his spiritual authority, he proclaimed a new divine law: “No sin committed by a child below the age of fourteen shall count toward their karmic debt equivalent to that of an adult. Children who do not yet understand dharma and adharma shall not be punished for their ignorant actions.” This became the first “juvenile law” in Hindu mythology—a recognition that children, in their innocence and ignorance, deserve compassion and correction rather than severe punishment.
<story ends>
When I was a child, I too wanted to catch a dragonfly and tie a thread to it so it would fly around like a little pet. But my mother stopped me. She told me this very story of Sage Mandavya, and it scared me for life. I never forgot it, and I never tried to catch and bind a dragonfly again.
[deleted]
Two thoughts:
1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos.
2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world.
1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos.
2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world.
> If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world.
This is an ongoing problem in Norway now and I think it has been in Sweden for some time.
If you want to read more, search for the foxtrot network.
This is an ongoing problem in Norway now and I think it has been in Sweden for some time.
If you want to read more, search for the foxtrot network.
1. idk how it works in Hindu mythology, but Mandavya doesn't look an ordinary mortal for me. Double so: not ordinary and not mortal.
2. It would fail to deliver. The goal is to avoid punishment for crimes? But I suspect that convincing children to commit crimes is a crime by itself.
2. It would fail to deliver. The goal is to avoid punishment for crimes? But I suspect that convincing children to commit crimes is a crime by itself.
> If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses
Yes, but logic doesn't apply to religious beliefs; anime logic does.
Yes, but logic doesn't apply to religious beliefs; anime logic does.
> 1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos.
Mandavya is not just any mortal; he is an enlightened sage. In Hinduism, enlightened beings are considered superior to gods. There’s another story about Sage Markandeya (one of the nine immortals, the Chiranjeevis) who caused the death of Yama, the God of Death. In Hindu cosmology, all the gods hold honorary responsibilities, and nothing is permanent - not even the position of Brahma, the Creator
> 2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world
I believe he introduced a juvenile law, which involves reduced sentences or milder punishments rather than granting complete immunity from consequences.
Mandavya is not just any mortal; he is an enlightened sage. In Hinduism, enlightened beings are considered superior to gods. There’s another story about Sage Markandeya (one of the nine immortals, the Chiranjeevis) who caused the death of Yama, the God of Death. In Hindu cosmology, all the gods hold honorary responsibilities, and nothing is permanent - not even the position of Brahma, the Creator
> 2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world
I believe he introduced a juvenile law, which involves reduced sentences or milder punishments rather than granting complete immunity from consequences.
> 1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos.
Opportunity myth? Mortals are simply temporarily embarrassed gods?
Opportunity myth? Mortals are simply temporarily embarrassed gods?
[deleted]
I used to want to kill them all, regardless of where they were, until I watched this excellent SciShow video[0] titled "What If We Killed All the Wasps?". (but ticks can still go fuck themselves to death)
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5unZIbSFY
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5unZIbSFY
Very much this. After multiple very painful stings, I have a zero tolerance policy for nests on the house, but I am very grateful when they show up in the garden. Wasps are more effective at controlling garden pests than any chemical means I've tried. Plus they seem to be the only pollinators of my passionfruit.
Around here the passion flowers are mostly pollinated by a species of bumblebee with an almost-all-black abdomen and beautiful violet wings. So far they haven't stung me, although I'm sure they could, and it would be very painful. I haven't tried capturing them.
It sounds like it could be Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, found in Europe and Asia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_violacea
I'm in South America, and it doesn't look very similar: http://canonical.org/~kragen/bumblebee.jpeg
I think these are also much larger than the violet carpenter bee.
I think these are also much larger than the violet carpenter bee.
When the crusader army reached Béziers, they demanded that all heretics be handed over. The townspeople refused, and the crusaders stormed the city. Once inside, they couldn’t tell Catholics from Cathars—everyone spoke the same language and lived side by side.
That’s when the Cistercian legate Arnaud Amalric supposedly gave his infamous order:
“Caedite eos; Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.” “Kill them all; for the Lord knows those that are His.”
It’s a paraphrase of 2 Timothy 2:19 (“The Lord knoweth them that are his”).
The crusaders slaughtered virtually the entire population—estimated between 10,000 – 20,000 people—before burning the city.
ps I have an irrational fear of wasps
That’s when the Cistercian legate Arnaud Amalric supposedly gave his infamous order:
“Caedite eos; Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.” “Kill them all; for the Lord knows those that are His.”
It’s a paraphrase of 2 Timothy 2:19 (“The Lord knoweth them that are his”).
The crusaders slaughtered virtually the entire population—estimated between 10,000 – 20,000 people—before burning the city.
ps I have an irrational fear of wasps
I've watched wasps attack my honey bees, so I'm in camp no wasps, at least while I have hives on the go.
Similar story, had a nest in the walls of a bay window bump. Too far up the side to spray effectively, but they had one weakness: there was a clear entrance spot. So I duct taped a pool vacuum hose next to it and ran it into the garage attached to a shop vac. Left it running for a day, problem solved. It was fun listening to the "ka-thunk" sound when each insect got sucked in. I think for next time I'll make some kind of detector based on audio to count the kills.
I've used a shop vac as a first step, but if it's the only step, won't the queen survive and make more wasps? Unless you left it running for so long the queen starved to death, I mean.
My current approach is to wait until after dark, then fill up the nest entrance with spray foam (while wearing a beekeeper suit, just to be safe). I don't think that would work for walls, though - they'd probably find another way out.
My current approach is to wait until after dark, then fill up the nest entrance with spray foam (while wearing a beekeeper suit, just to be safe). I don't think that would work for walls, though - they'd probably find another way out.
In fact, that approach is explicitly warned against for walls. When they can't get out their former entrance, they will start to chew through the wall to make a new one - and there's no guarantee that new entrance will lead to the outside, rather than your living room.
My problem was the nest was hard to reach, and I was afraid that even if spraying did manage to kill the wasps, I would be left with a gross wet decomposing mass in the wall causing rot and water damage. I still need to figure out how to remove the existing nest but I'll wait until it's vacant :-)
I've needed two passes in the past, a few days apart. One to catch all of the adults, and another to catch any new wasps that emerged immediately after the first pass.
My first time having yellow jackets in my wall, I sprayed poison in the entrance. They found a new way to leave the nest that was into my kitchen. That's when I stopped using poison.
I used the shop vac method as well, occasionally shooting near their (hidden in a retaining wall) nest with a hose to piss them off and make them come out and get sucked up. I couldn't believe in the end there were two gallons of yellow jackets I captured.
Haha! We did the same thing! And we caught about 2 gallons of yellow jackets too. We let it run for about 10 hours (it gets them coming or going), and then when we took down the vac, I let it run and sprayed wasp spray to make sure they were dead. I freaked out when I opened it, seeing the shop vac was half full!!!!
Years ago one of my friends left a half-drank can of beer outside of my house on a hot summer night. I found it a few days later when I went to take the mower out of the shed. To my surprise when I picked it up I felt something rattling around inside. In the interceding period a bunch of wasps had apparently decided to help themselves to my buddy's leftover National Bohemian and ended up drowning in what I assume to be intoxicated bliss.
Or maybe they couldn't find their way out of the can in the dark, who knows. As a fellow Boh aficionado I can't blame them for trying.
Or maybe they couldn't find their way out of the can in the dark, who knows. As a fellow Boh aficionado I can't blame them for trying.
This is the technique I have used, too! You can put soapy water in the shop vac.
This avoids spraying poisons around your household environment.
This avoids spraying poisons around your household environment.
This summer, we had a white-faced hornet nest, in a bush, a few feet from our front door, so it had to go.
Normally, hornets are great. They are nowhere near as aggressive as yellowjackets (unless you mess with the nest), and they eat yellowjackets, so you either have hornets or yellowjackets, but not both (but they also eat bees, so people who want to encourage pollinators, need to discourage them).
But that low on the ground, and that close to the house, they had to go.
I have heard too many horror stories about botched hornet removal, so I called in a pro. I have a friend in the business, so I got a break (but that was $150).
It was interesting, watching him do it. Took about 15 minutes. He had a special suit. It looked flimsy, but they couldn’t get through.
Normally, hornets are great. They are nowhere near as aggressive as yellowjackets (unless you mess with the nest), and they eat yellowjackets, so you either have hornets or yellowjackets, but not both (but they also eat bees, so people who want to encourage pollinators, need to discourage them).
But that low on the ground, and that close to the house, they had to go.
I have heard too many horror stories about botched hornet removal, so I called in a pro. I have a friend in the business, so I got a break (but that was $150).
It was interesting, watching him do it. Took about 15 minutes. He had a special suit. It looked flimsy, but they couldn’t get through.
I have good luck with low nests just buying a can of wasp spray (the ones that foam and have a claimed 30ft range, although somewhat less in practice) and soaking down the nest at dust. I usually put on some extra clothing and make a run for it but I haven't been chased. The can only cost like $15.
What I don't have good luck with is the nests built high up since I'm afraid of heights
What I don't have good luck with is the nests built high up since I'm afraid of heights
Why didn't he just move it to another place? Hornets are a threatened species.
Not white-faced hornets[0]. They are everywhere on the East Coast USA.
They aren't actually real hornets. They are just big yellowjackets.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata
They aren't actually real hornets. They are just big yellowjackets.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichovespula_maculata
Which hornets are threatened?
The only hornets news I hear is that they're invasive and killing pollinators.
The only hornets news I hear is that they're invasive and killing pollinators.
European hornets are protected in several European countries. The low population is also a reason we have too many wasps.
That said even though they're not particularly aggressive, I don't know anyone who would just leave a nest on their property.
That said even though they're not particularly aggressive, I don't know anyone who would just leave a nest on their property.
My parents had a hornets nest at different spots on the house several times in a row (they typically don't nest in the same place). Nobody was ever stung (and I've been visiting with my two small kids). Hornets are actually fascinating to watch, they would fly into the winter garden/glass house (where we typically had breakfast in summer), catch the insects who were stuck and flying along the windows/glass ceiling and just fly out again. Super smart.
As a side note, destroying hornets nests (and wasps possibly as well) is illegal in many European countries because they are protected.
As a side note, destroying hornets nests (and wasps possibly as well) is illegal in many European countries because they are protected.
German wasps are invasive and afaik only Germany protects them under the same category as all other species of wasps, which is funny because Germany has a huge overpopulation of yellowjackets. You can still remove a nest on your property if you have a reasonable cause for doing so.
I think that some southern US households like to encourage them, as long as they aren't in an area where humans can disturb them.
They kill all kinds of nasty bugs, and are pretty standoffish (as long as you don't get near the nest).
Piss them off, however, and your life will experience whole new vistas of pain.
They kill all kinds of nasty bugs, and are pretty standoffish (as long as you don't get near the nest).
Piss them off, however, and your life will experience whole new vistas of pain.
Right, by European standards even if you live in a detached house with a backyard, any location is probably going to be too close, as you probably don't want to be bothered when you eat outside or have people over for a barbecue.
Obviously if you live on a farm, it might be different, especially if you have fruit trees, which should keep them busy.
Obviously if you live on a farm, it might be different, especially if you have fruit trees, which should keep them busy.
Around here, they usually set up, high in a tree. You often can’t see the nest, until fall.
Yellowjackets, on the other hand, dig holes; often quite near houses. They are also quite aggressive. You can easily disturb their nests.
Also, I don’t think hornet stings are as venomous as yellowjacket stings (they probably don’t need to be). Being swarmed by yellowjackets really sucks.
I’d pick hornets over yellowjackets, any day.
Yellowjackets, on the other hand, dig holes; often quite near houses. They are also quite aggressive. You can easily disturb their nests.
Also, I don’t think hornet stings are as venomous as yellowjacket stings (they probably don’t need to be). Being swarmed by yellowjackets really sucks.
I’d pick hornets over yellowjackets, any day.
I see a lot of advice being given in these comments, and I find it a little alarming that my own preference hasn't got a mention.
Just leave them be?
I've had plenty of wasp nests in sheds, roof spaces, garages etc and never had a problem peacefully coexisting with them.
Almost everyone I've spoken to about it shares this sentiment, and generally wouldn't do anything about it unless it was in an especially risky location.
I get the impression most commenters here are from the US, whilst I live in the UK. Am I naive to the aggression of American wasps, or is it just more acceptable to kill creatures you find bothersome over there?
Does anyone with experience both sides of the pond have any insight?
I get the impression most commenters here are from the US, whilst I live in the UK. Am I naive to the aggression of American wasps, or is it just more acceptable to kill creatures you find bothersome over there?
Does anyone with experience both sides of the pond have any insight?
Maybe you have friendlier wasps in the UK, but the common ones in the US (yellowjackets, mud daubers, etc.) are generally very aggressive, and trying to coexist with them will end badly sooner or later.
I'm vegetarian because of personal ethics. I safely capture and release spiders I find in the house. I use live traps for mice and rats, and release them in the woods. But most wasps here are on my "nip the problem in the bud" list, along with termites, Scotch Broom, and a few other things.
I leave non-aggressive wasps, like Great Golden Diggers, alone.
I'm vegetarian because of personal ethics. I safely capture and release spiders I find in the house. I use live traps for mice and rats, and release them in the woods. But most wasps here are on my "nip the problem in the bud" list, along with termites, Scotch Broom, and a few other things.
I leave non-aggressive wasps, like Great Golden Diggers, alone.
In my experience (and wikipedia), mud daubers aren't aggressive. You may have misidentified a species or had an uncommon experience. They prey on spiders so I consider them beneficial. Only real issue with them is that they clog up mechanisms with mud.
What's wrong with Scotch Broom? It looks lovely, and I was thinking of planting some.
It's invasive.
From Wikipedia:
In North America, Scotch broom was frequently planted in gardens, and was later used for erosion control along highway cuts and fills. Scotch broom is slightly toxic and unpalatable to livestock, and its seeds are viable for up to ten years, allowing them to regrow many years later, after extermination of the plant.
From Wikipedia:
In North America, Scotch broom was frequently planted in gardens, and was later used for erosion control along highway cuts and fills. Scotch broom is slightly toxic and unpalatable to livestock, and its seeds are viable for up to ten years, allowing them to regrow many years later, after extermination of the plant.
I don't know, but I've never had trouble with mud daubers.
If you have (young) kids, having active/plentiful wasps nearby might just not work. Wasps can be scary, especially to children who have been stung before, and they are super-impractical around kids eating/snacking, too. "Close your mouth and relax" just doesn't get through to a scared kid, in my experience. :|
> Am I naive to the aggression of American wasps
Yes. Yellow jackets are very aggressive. Having them live in or next to your house is just asking for an injury.
Yes. Yellow jackets are very aggressive. Having them live in or next to your house is just asking for an injury.
Part of the difference might be our obsession with sugary foods and drink. There are several different kinds of wasps here. Paper wasps and mud daubers are not all that aggressive and you can ignore them, unless you have a sugary drink outside. Then they will fly unnoticed into your soda can and you have a surprise next time you take a sip. If you stay calm and spit out the wasp quickly enough, they probably won't sting you. If you panic (like kids tend to do), they will sting the inside of your mouth.
The other part might come from having different types of wasps. The ones in the article look like yellowjackets, which are extremely aggressive. They also tend to nest in holes in the ground. Yellowjackets are bad news because if you accidentally step close to their nest they will swarm you, often getting multiple stings in even if you are quick to run away.
The other part might come from having different types of wasps. The ones in the article look like yellowjackets, which are extremely aggressive. They also tend to nest in holes in the ground. Yellowjackets are bad news because if you accidentally step close to their nest they will swarm you, often getting multiple stings in even if you are quick to run away.
Where I live, bald-faced hornets and yellowjackets are very aggressive. Yellowjackets will also build nests inside of structures, in the ground, etc. where it's sometimes very difficult to even know they are there until it's too late.
This is much different than honey bees and other types of wasps who are much less likely to attack just by being near them.
This is much different than honey bees and other types of wasps who are much less likely to attack just by being near them.
No experience in the uk, but I might be able to explain. YellowJackets are wasps, I'm calling them out specifically; wasp is used for other species.
Wasps nest under the eaves of houses all the time. If they're not near an entryway, usually people leave them alone as long as the nest stays small.
Yellow jackets do not nest under the eaves of a house. They burrow in the ground (or walls) where you can't see them or the nest size. They're also particularly aggressive and will swarm if you step on their nest.
YJs are more aggressive and territorial than a normal "wasp" with the added bonus of sometimes they just swarm you out of nowhere.
Wasps nest under the eaves of houses all the time. If they're not near an entryway, usually people leave them alone as long as the nest stays small.
Yellow jackets do not nest under the eaves of a house. They burrow in the ground (or walls) where you can't see them or the nest size. They're also particularly aggressive and will swarm if you step on their nest.
YJs are more aggressive and territorial than a normal "wasp" with the added bonus of sometimes they just swarm you out of nowhere.
The wasp nest from ops article was inside of their front door jamb. Basically anyone visiting the front door during daylight hours would be attacked by a swarm of wasps that thought their nest was being disturbed.
European here, more than once I have been stuck by a yellow jacket for the simple crime of staying outside, minding my own business. My father was very badly stung because he accidentally disturbed a (hidden) nest. So I hate them with a passion. They also kill honeybees if you want another reason.
I was at my cabin in the fall - it was after Covid and the first time I was there in a couple of years. I got a nice fire going in the fireplace and maybe thirty minutes later I saw a wasp flying very poorly and slowly around the living room. Then a few more and a few more. I figure they must have built a nest in the attic during Covid, and were in hibernation for the winter but the warmth woke them up.
So that night and the next few I had a roaring fire and let it get cold during the day. I really didn't want to go into the attic to investigate. Eventually there were no more wasps. Problem solved!
So that night and the next few I had a roaring fire and let it get cold during the day. I really didn't want to go into the attic to investigate. Eventually there were no more wasps. Problem solved!
I had a wasp problem last year where they were going into the attic of my home. I did what I could with spray cans, but it wasn’t enough.
I ended up calling an exterminator who used delta dust, which the wasps carry into the nest. It was a little pricey (~$150) but it was peace of mind from the other alternative, being able to do nothing. The exterminator came back for free a few days later to re-dust when there was little change in activity. The second go did the trick.
I did look at a few options online before calling. One idea was to set up a vacuum trap with a shop vac (1).
(1) https://woodgears.ca/misc/wasp_sucker.html
I ended up calling an exterminator who used delta dust, which the wasps carry into the nest. It was a little pricey (~$150) but it was peace of mind from the other alternative, being able to do nothing. The exterminator came back for free a few days later to re-dust when there was little change in activity. The second go did the trick.
I did look at a few options online before calling. One idea was to set up a vacuum trap with a shop vac (1).
(1) https://woodgears.ca/misc/wasp_sucker.html
The house we bought last year "came with" cicada killer wasps[0]. They are impressive insects. The ones show in the Wikipedia article are a little smaller than the ones we have! I'd never heard of these things before getting this house.
They are somewhat destructive in their nesting. We ended up having to kill a few when they were excavating the bedding sand between the flagstones surrounding the house. They could dig out a pile of sand standing 4 - 5 inches tall in about 30 minutes (leaving a hole about an inch in diameter right in the middle of the pile).
They don't sting and are scared of humans. When they're unladen they fly very quickly and are quite agile. When they're laden with a cicada they bumble through the air in a most amusing way. They are also persistent-as-heck when it comes to their nesting behavior.
I wish I could do something like this wasp blower to gently suggest these guys nest in the yard instead of between the flagstones.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus
They are somewhat destructive in their nesting. We ended up having to kill a few when they were excavating the bedding sand between the flagstones surrounding the house. They could dig out a pile of sand standing 4 - 5 inches tall in about 30 minutes (leaving a hole about an inch in diameter right in the middle of the pile).
They don't sting and are scared of humans. When they're unladen they fly very quickly and are quite agile. When they're laden with a cicada they bumble through the air in a most amusing way. They are also persistent-as-heck when it comes to their nesting behavior.
I wish I could do something like this wasp blower to gently suggest these guys nest in the yard instead of between the flagstones.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus
Reminds me of something similar I saw a few days ago.
https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1o195z6/i_elimi...
https://old.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/1o195z6/i_elimi...
Vigilance and attentiveness is definitely better here; early in the year you are looking for a handful of wasps spending more time near any one part of the facade of your house than normal. Pick a warm day in mid-spring, go round the property and note where wasps are going.
You can safely use a spray to pick them off late in the evening, and if you get there early enough, depending on the species, one of those wasps could actually be the queen, because she may still be leaving the nest in order to care for her earliest brood.
If you don't get the queen, because the nest is so small, you may get enough toxin onto one of the early workers that they will bring it into contact with the queen.
You then use an insecticide foam around the entrance to any hole you see wasps going into. You can lay it on pretty thick, more than once, and they will progressively poison the nest. You can do this a few days apart in the evening.
Since the nest is still small you probably don't need to hit the nest, and you might as well leave it because then no other colony will use the space. You do need to saturate any pathway they take to it.
Directly above a bedroom window that is impossible to see from the outside but can be deduced by a process of elimination, in the roof of my 210 year old house, is a tiny gap, which attracted a nest nine years ago. I used this method and while I think I might very well have got the queen directtly, activity around the nest stopped in about 48 hours, and while every year I see wasps investigate the hole, I am guessing corpses put them off.
In the warm late spring of the pandemic I resprayed the hole, and sprayed a couple more, with what was left of the can, because I reasoned that it might be difficult to get a pest controller to deal with them; this proved to be a wise decision because nests established in several places nearby in that lovely hot summer that went untreated for far too long.
You can safely use a spray to pick them off late in the evening, and if you get there early enough, depending on the species, one of those wasps could actually be the queen, because she may still be leaving the nest in order to care for her earliest brood.
If you don't get the queen, because the nest is so small, you may get enough toxin onto one of the early workers that they will bring it into contact with the queen.
You then use an insecticide foam around the entrance to any hole you see wasps going into. You can lay it on pretty thick, more than once, and they will progressively poison the nest. You can do this a few days apart in the evening.
Since the nest is still small you probably don't need to hit the nest, and you might as well leave it because then no other colony will use the space. You do need to saturate any pathway they take to it.
Directly above a bedroom window that is impossible to see from the outside but can be deduced by a process of elimination, in the roof of my 210 year old house, is a tiny gap, which attracted a nest nine years ago. I used this method and while I think I might very well have got the queen directtly, activity around the nest stopped in about 48 hours, and while every year I see wasps investigate the hole, I am guessing corpses put them off.
In the warm late spring of the pandemic I resprayed the hole, and sprayed a couple more, with what was left of the can, because I reasoned that it might be difficult to get a pest controller to deal with them; this proved to be a wise decision because nests established in several places nearby in that lovely hot summer that went untreated for far too long.
This is good advice but I find they can build a nest quite fast once they get going. I've found a golf ball sized nest built onto the inside of a garage door that I'd only opened that morning.
Horror. The spiral birth factory, stepped terraces of the hatching cells, blind jaws of the unborn moving ceaselessly, the staged progress from egg to larva, near-wasp, wasp. In his mind's eye, a kind of time-lapse photography took place, revealing the thing as the biological equivalent of a machine gun, hideous in its perfection.
Neuromancer, in case anyone's curious. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7235994-horror-the-spiral-b...
Great book.
Great book.
I tend to use a shop vacuum to get rid of undesirable wasp nests. Fill the tank with a few litres of water so the victims have something to drown in, point the tube at the nest entry or whatever entry the wasps use and switch it on for an hour or so. As soon as there is some disturbance most of the resident wasps will exit the nest to defend it so you'll get the resident population in only a few minutes. Keep the vacuum in place for a while to catch those which were out and about. Once you've got (most of) the workers the nest will die out if left alone. If you can reach it you can knock it down and drown or burn it, if it is in a wall somewhere that is not an option.
Don't forget to put water in the tank or you'll be met by a cloud of angry wasps when you open it.
Don't forget to put water in the tank or you'll be met by a cloud of angry wasps when you open it.
If you forget the water at first, you can always vacuum it in later
I just waited a week.
I do this as well, but put in about an inch of water with a few drops of dish soap. Instant wasp kryptonite. I have a few extension tubes so I can just lean it up against the house and watch as they are sucked in coming in or out.
It is absolutely hypnotizing.
It won't kill an entire nest late in the season, but will knock down their numbers so that they aren't as prevalent.
It is absolutely hypnotizing.
It won't kill an entire nest late in the season, but will knock down their numbers so that they aren't as prevalent.
You _can_ kill the nest this late in the season with a vacuum. I just did it 2-3 weeks ago; got the queen and all. It took several weeks of vacuum of intermittent vacuuming but you can. I've done this twice using the same method.
I wish I had the was blower 3 months ago. Wasps nested in the space between my
laundry room and the 2nd floor. The exit was a crack between the concrete blocks outside wall and the vinyl siding. They found an entrance into the house through the overhead light socket when a fool whose name shall not be mentioned duck-taped their regular exit route.
A call to the pest-control and $400.00 USD later took care of it. They bore a tiny hole next to the exit and pumped lethal gas in it. The problem with the was blower in my case it it would have to be 8 ft attached to the wall.
We had a big hornet problem one year at my friend's place. Hornets made their nest outside the kitchen and would enter every time we opened the door and fly around the house. Big, fat hornets with a powerful sting that you really didn't want flying around you, or landing on chairs and tables.
Me and my friend's father tried to fight off the wasps by killing them. I crushed them with a fly swatter and the father sprayed them at close quarters with a bottle of Raid.
My friend would instead turn off the lights in the kitchen and turn on the ones nearer the door, then turn on the lights outside, so the wasps would naturally follow the light and find their way out.
Me and my friend's dad killed the wasps, my friend guided them to the light and got rid of them without murder.
Also, my friend was once stung by one of those wasps, while I never was. I don't know about the father.
I've often thought that if me and my friend were prehistoric people, I'd be like the stereotypical brutish primitive hominid going around bonking everything on the head with a bludgeon while my friend would like, figure out how to make leather out of animal hides or invent pottery or arithmetic or something.
P.S. Suffice it to say, I've never killed a hornet since, or any other insect on purpose. I only kill mosquitoes on purpose and that only after a long time that I tried not to.
Me and my friend's father tried to fight off the wasps by killing them. I crushed them with a fly swatter and the father sprayed them at close quarters with a bottle of Raid.
My friend would instead turn off the lights in the kitchen and turn on the ones nearer the door, then turn on the lights outside, so the wasps would naturally follow the light and find their way out.
Me and my friend's dad killed the wasps, my friend guided them to the light and got rid of them without murder.
Also, my friend was once stung by one of those wasps, while I never was. I don't know about the father.
I've often thought that if me and my friend were prehistoric people, I'd be like the stereotypical brutish primitive hominid going around bonking everything on the head with a bludgeon while my friend would like, figure out how to make leather out of animal hides or invent pottery or arithmetic or something.
P.S. Suffice it to say, I've never killed a hornet since, or any other insect on purpose. I only kill mosquitoes on purpose and that only after a long time that I tried not to.
I was more impressed when Emily the Engineer built an actual Wasp Launcher - https://youtu.be/mEn2kA0cAGw
Unrelated to wasp eradication, but interesting, still:
Three Valuable Peptides from Bee and Wasp Venoms for Therapeutic and Biotechnological Use: Melittin, Apamin and Mastoparan [1]
BBC: Wasp venom 'a weapon against cancer' (2015) [2]
[1]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8000949/
[2]: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-34115112
Three Valuable Peptides from Bee and Wasp Venoms for Therapeutic and Biotechnological Use: Melittin, Apamin and Mastoparan [1]
BBC: Wasp venom 'a weapon against cancer' (2015) [2]
[1]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8000949/
[2]: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-34115112
For people that don’t know, regular wasps always leave in the face of danger to the nest. If you have the typical small nest, the easiest thing you can do is hit it fast with a broom or similar. They will all disappear in seconds.
I’ve seen my dad do it a lot of times with his bare hands, never got stung. But if you pass by the nest enough times, you’ll be.
Another good solution is fire. A blow torch with a wide flame, burns their wings (if it doesn’t outright kill them) and also their nest, which is more or less made of paper.
I’ve seen my dad do it a lot of times with his bare hands, never got stung. But if you pass by the nest enough times, you’ll be.
Another good solution is fire. A blow torch with a wide flame, burns their wings (if it doesn’t outright kill them) and also their nest, which is more or less made of paper.
I once saw a video of a crazy dude take care of a wasp nest by putting a plastic grocery bag over it and detaching the nest in one smooth motion, then tying it shut and throwing it in the trash. He didn't get stung because the nest was tied up before the wasps even knew they were under attack.
Some people get even crazier: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QAe7gtkp_2E
Alternatively, if you like having your house not catch on fire...
Soapy water is unreasonably effective. Water alone is not. The soap makes the water extra clingy and does a pretty rapid job of incapacitating insects. Then killing them. I've taken out individual wasps this way, but not a whole nest.
Soapy water is unreasonably effective. Water alone is not. The soap makes the water extra clingy and does a pretty rapid job of incapacitating insects. Then killing them. I've taken out individual wasps this way, but not a whole nest.
lol. I had a neighbor burn his shed down that way. The fun (not sarcastic) of rural life.
Well, yeah. You have to be careful. Here, houses are made of brick, and almost no one has a shed, YMMV.
Sorry, but no one has a shed? Where do you cook your meth? Please don't tell me the house.
I know you’re joking, but where I live in Spain it’s very rare, we normally store tools in the basement garage. In the north, Galicia and Asturias, it’s much more frequent to have wooden sheds in the countryside.
I've found if you have wasps nesting somewhere that there is an entrance or a sheltered place for them to build their nest, it's best to cover or fill the entrance if possible. Caulking or Great Stuff foam is a great choice here. Any cracks or holes they use to get behind siding or the like, for example. We had persistent nest problems in an underhang of our Little Free Library, which is a terrible place for a wasp nest, and I filled that gap with great stuff.
We have paper wasps predominantly around here, and they will tend to nest in secluded areas, often voids or overhangs. I built my shed specifically to limit the ability for wasps to have a great place to make home.
We have paper wasps predominantly around here, and they will tend to nest in secluded areas, often voids or overhangs. I built my shed specifically to limit the ability for wasps to have a great place to make home.
We had a wasps nest last summer inside the wall under the eaves of our house, some kid from the exterminator's came with a long telescoping rod and puffed some kind of white powder into the opening. He explained that it was something like a slow-acting poison (or maybe like diatomaceous earth) that would cover the drones when they left or arrived at the nest and that it was enough for one of these drones to brush up against the queen to kill her. They swarmed around for a few hours then we never saw them again, so it apparently worked.
This was after attempting to spray the opening with regular wasp spray a few times. Sure, it killed a dozen or so drones each time but never really put a dent in the population.
This was after attempting to spray the opening with regular wasp spray a few times. Sure, it killed a dozen or so drones each time but never really put a dent in the population.
A good spray picking off the very earliest dozen or so wasps in the early spring may actually directly get the queen, who has not always permanently settled in. That point or the next few weeks is an excellent opportunity to add secondary toxins that the workers will carry in, because the nest is so small they will encounter the queen.
Beyond that I guess only completely saturating an internal trunk route through the thing with a tool like that is going to work!
Beyond that I guess only completely saturating an internal trunk route through the thing with a tool like that is going to work!
I haven't seen my successful method mentioned yet, so I’ll share.
I had a ground nest, but it was built into a rock wall for a raised flower bed. They had several exit points. Despite emptying multiple of those spray cans, it was a healthy hive. Feeling discouraged, I dumped a bunch of fire ant powder all over the rocks. I did it at night, hoping they were all in there. I checked on them the next day and they were gone. I have no idea if it killed them or they decided it wasn’t a good home location anymore and left. Either way, no more yellow jackets.
I had a ground nest, but it was built into a rock wall for a raised flower bed. They had several exit points. Despite emptying multiple of those spray cans, it was a healthy hive. Feeling discouraged, I dumped a bunch of fire ant powder all over the rocks. I did it at night, hoping they were all in there. I checked on them the next day and they were gone. I have no idea if it killed them or they decided it wasn’t a good home location anymore and left. Either way, no more yellow jackets.
If you have a nest in the ground you can fill it with CO2 gas at the entrance hole in the evening when they are resting. The gas will sink into the nest and leave no toxic residue.
Trick might be finding the CO2, you can normally rent a tank at a welding supply shop. You'll also need a pressure regulator and hose.
Dry ice can also be used, put some in a soda bottle with water and a hose taped up or snug fit to the top. Do not allow the bottle to pressurize however.
Some people have reported using car exhaust but I'm not sure that's as effective.
Trick might be finding the CO2, you can normally rent a tank at a welding supply shop. You'll also need a pressure regulator and hose.
Dry ice can also be used, put some in a soda bottle with water and a hose taped up or snug fit to the top. Do not allow the bottle to pressurize however.
Some people have reported using car exhaust but I'm not sure that's as effective.
I had two yellowjacket nests in the wood siding of my house this summer. Several cans of foaming spray had no effect since it couldn't penetrate far enough inside. I found a random forum thread where someone suggested using Sevin insecticide powder on the openings. It took a week and a half of daily applications using a paintbrush, but it seemed to be effective. Less expensive than calling an exterminator, and I have most of the can of powder left for next time.
Pro tip if you're trying to deal with any of these: Do it while it's cold. Do not (as I did the first time) gird your appendages in towels and other random shielding, then do it in the mid-afternoon when it's been warm for hours and they're prepped to go like fighter jets with warmed up engines. Get up first thing in the morning when it's crispy and you can just get a can of bug spray and coat each one as it comes out. Ethical? No. Effective? Yes. I believe those two might be at odds.
I do it at night. They sleep, and using a red headlamp I don't think I disturbed them too much. After I saw activity drop off, I used expanding foam to seal the hole.
I have lots of paper wasps and red wasps nesting around my house and on the inside and outside of several outbuildings. They do a great job managing the fly population around here.
If you have a problem with wasps trying to nest under porches at your exterior doors you should paint the underside of the porches sky blue. This will discourage nesting by making the wasps feel like the site is exposed to the weather.
If you have a problem with wasps trying to nest under porches at your exterior doors you should paint the underside of the porches sky blue. This will discourage nesting by making the wasps feel like the site is exposed to the weather.
More like "Wasp Wood Chipper"
Related video from M Wandel: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OM4Nku2qAiI&pp=ygUVTWF0dGhpYXM...
Whatever is being used for what I assume is AC mains voltage with heavy load amperage does NOT look cut out for the job. It's screaming fire hazard to my eyes.
It's amazing how much DIY problem-solving comes out of necessity. Always interesting to see the basic household tech getting repurposed in a creative ways.
I just vacuumed up a bee hive that had taken residence in my siding. Just rigged up my shop vac at the entrance and left it on.
Bees or yellowjacket wasps? The first are pretty much "live and let live" the second turn into aggressive starving balls of winged hate in the late summer and early fall.
Bees make honey and pollinate - yellowjacket wasps may remove some pests from the environment, but otherwise bring pain and suffering to the unwary.
Bees make honey and pollinate - yellowjacket wasps may remove some pests from the environment, but otherwise bring pain and suffering to the unwary.
If they have moved into the walls where you live, they need to be removed. Species is not important here.
Obviously, if you've got young kids around or the wasps are being aggressive, take care of the humans first, but understanding them a bit can really reduce the conflict with them.